MISSOULA — University of Montana running back Marcus Knight has entered the transfer portal and left the Grizzly football team.
Sources confirmed the news with MTN Sports on Sunday morning. ABC/FOX Montana was first to report the news on Saturday before the Griz kicked off against Eastern Washington.
Per sources, Knight's leaving of the team is not due to bad feelings toward the team or playing time, just for the search of a new scene. He entered the transfer portal on Wednesday and no longer appears on the roster online.
Knight leaves Montana with a decorated resume and with a redemption story as well. After spending 2018 at community college, Knight broke out in 2019 as an All-American running back for the Grizzlies. He rushed for 1,030 yards and 23 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2019 and also caught 34 passes for 277 yards and two more touchdowns. He set the school record for rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns in that campaign.
Knight's road got rocky from there. He, along with his teammates, saw their 2020 season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then in 2021, Knight tore his ACL in spring ball, and was forced to miss the entire 2021 fall season.
He returned in 2022 after almost three full years away from an official game, and rotated in at running back with Nick Ostmo and Xavier Harris. Knight appeared in all nine of UM's game prior to EWU, and ran the ball 73 times for 292 yards and four scores.
Ostmo has taken over as the lead back for UM, rushing for 367 yards in the last two games while rushing for five touchdowns and catching one more. Harris didn't play against EWU, so Isiah Childs rotated in as the second back, with true freshman Eli Gillman making his first appearance of the year as well.
